February 20, 2012

Well gang, long time no talk. My sincerest apologies for that. And it’s no excuse, but I’ve been kind of busy. This having a real job thing is crazy. In case I didn’t personally let you know, as of July 11, 2011, I am the Assistant Women’s Golf Coach at the University of Kentucky.

Broke down and traded in the red for blue (but how good did the hogs look in football last year?). It’s a bit complicated of how I came to be where I am, much like anything. But here is a general overview of my thought process.

My plan last year was the play on the LPGA Futures Tour, see where that put me, and then continue the quest for my tour card. Funny how things can change with one phone call. I had known that coaching was in my future, or at least I had hoped it was, but I didn’t know how soon that future would become a reality. Don’t get me wrong, the universe was trying to tell me what was coming: at every tournament site after I applied for this job, there was some UK banner/flag/license plate/something to remind me of what I was considering.

This stuff is everywhere. But for me, an opportunity to help create something, get back in the SEC, and still be around a sport that I love, was everything I could’ve asked for and more. As hard as it was to be honest with myself, this was a great decision. As of right now I have no regrets about hanging up my professional hat, but I do miss seeing those familar faces, week after week, city after city.

Now if you have kept up with this over the past two years, you have shared in the heartache and joy that was my professional golf journey. But those highs and lows are far from over. Soon after taking this job, I applied to get my amateur status back. It’s like a revival of sorts. I am beyond excited to explore this side of the game again and get back at it. June 26, 2012.

Looking back through this, it’s very sobering to get this all on paper. I’ve really missed sharing my experiences (I am a far better writer than speaker). Good thing the next adventure is always right around the corner.

June 27, 2011

Not the drugs (although…) but in reference to the people that live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

This was the first year of the event in Harris, MI, and you would’ve thought they had been running one for years. It was amazing to see the support from the community as well as the way we were treated. However, golf didn’t go very well and neither did the casino, but I am not much for the slots.

It’s been a tough June for me, and I’m glad that it’s coming to an end. Good looking rounds dotted by mistakes, complete weeks of blow ups, and being just under the mark. Needless to say, I am really looking forward to what July has in store for me.

While in the U.P., a few of us were able to go out on a 52′ yacht on Lake Michigan called Solvation. Pretty sure this boating trip trumped any others I had before it. The weather was a little iffy, but the calming effects of the water and the company made up for it.

Our wiley piratey crew. As mentioned prior, the tournament wrapped early for me, but I was able to get back out there on Sunday and caddy for my friend Jessi. She is playing the Women’s Open here soon and I for one can’t wait to see her on tv!

Before heading back home for the 4th, Pops and I are taking a little jaunt across the country. South Bend, Indiana.

Neither of us had been to the Notre Dame campus, nor seen Touchdown Jesus. I absolutely loved this campus. It was massive, but beautiful. Although, I might have something different to say come winter.

Words cannot express how ready I am to get home, get things figured out, and get to sleep in my own bed. What? It’s the little things in life.

June 20, 2011

On second thought, it’s pretty quite. Might smell a little, but I have a feeling that was more from my game than anything.

I kid, I kid. But seriously, just waiting to put 2 solid rounds together. Hopefully that will happen here REALLY soon.

Since I had the weekend off (again), Pops and I decided to drive north and spend the night in Madison, WI. Not sure if you know my love of college towns, but man do I love college towns and Madison did not disappoint. The campus boasts about 43,000 students (which is twice the size of Arkansas) and seems to stretch on for miles. Sorry for the lack of pictures, it’s hard trying to capture places when you are too busy gawking

At least I’m a sucker for a good tee-shirt. Sunday we continued to head north, stopping in Green Bay to see Lambeau Field. Our drive from there took us along the coast of Lake Michigan to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The drive through Wisconsin and this portion of Michigan has been one of my favorites this year. Except Walter (my GPS) has been having a hard time locating us.

Oh well, he’ll catch up eventually. This next week is a new tournament stop and after looking at the course today it looks like a keeper. But more on that later.

June 13, 2011

to the ball game.

What’d you think I was going to say? I’m not THAT down about my golf game, despite recent appearances. I can’t help but feel a little frustrated, but I know that I need to stay the course. Things will get better, eventually.

Last week was extremely busy. Between the normal practice rounds, I participated in an Outside the Ropes event that took us to a Cincinnati hospice center. The whole Hospice organization is amazing.Our trip involved shadowing trained dogs and their owners (pet therapits), which is a fantastic means of theraputic comfort to both the patients and family of patients. Now, I have not dealt with Hospice first hand, but hearing our tournament director take about her experiences and seeing patients first hand, I truly believe in what they are doing. And one of the girl’s from the tour put it best, “makes you put everything you do into perspective.” So true.

As an early Father’s Day, Pops and I attended an afternoon Red’s game at the Great American Ball Park. Hotter than the sun itself, we sat through 5 inning soaking in the surroundings. Definitely a nice break from the norm, and I forgot how delicious ballpark hotdogs were. Might have to actually start paying attention to baseball now, kind of like NASCAR.

June 6, 2011

even though sometimes you feel completely isolated. Plus, the governing body of Cedar Rapids sits on an island, so that’s pretty cool.

Back to being lonely, that’s probably what my one pay check this year feels like. Struggles make you tougher, as frustrating as they can be. But weathering the storms that they bring can be pretty demanding.

Enough of the sob story, though, I haven’t posted in a while. The tour “post-poned” the Kansas City event until next year, which left a big gapping hole in the schedule. Minus the Women’s Open qualifier, I had the month of May off. I say off, but practice and organzing dominated my down time.

So then the story brings us back to Iowa.

This is Jane and I, hanging out in a tire. Pretty typical afternoon. I had a really rough go the first round, but fought back in the second round, only to lose steam on the back nice. Roller coasters are fun, but during a golf round, they can be miserable. Luckily, we had my aunt, uncle, and cousin come in from Ames to hang out during the tournament. Made my week better, so that’s a plus.

Pops and I left Sunday to spend the night in Indianapolis, IN, before heading further east to Mason, OH. We had only driven by downtown previously, so we took a nice jaunt through the middle of it. Apparently,they are hosting the Super Bowl next year, so there are tons of rennovations being done.

Especially around the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial. Absolutely incredible structure in the heart of downtown. Of course we took a spin by the speedway as well (sorry no pictures), but I will say it’s completely different from Daytona. And I might have to watch the Indy 500 next year. Maybe.

May 2, 2011

where were you this past weekend? I know you were busy, trying to help the Spurs find their energy in the playoffs, but come on. It’s one little golf game.

And it’s that one little golf game that causes so many problems. It was a missed cut despite feeling like I was in a great position to play well. That feeling has to be one of the most disappointing things for an athlete. Well that and just missing the boat altogether.

If you missed the connection earlier, we were in San Antonio this past week (named for the patron saint of lost things, Saint Anthony). My mom was able to join Pops and I later in the week and make it a full family trip. Despite my awful play, we still managed to have fun on the River Walk. And by fun, I mean educational fun via the boat tour.

You can spend a lot of time walking around the river, going into small shops and great restaurants, but it is hard to grasp how expansive the river is until you’re on it. The buildings and bridges tell stories from the disastrous flood in 1921 to the HemisFair in 1968. Our tour guide was pretty funny and if you are ever in the area, I highly recommend taking the tour.

But now it’s back to reality. And after having great summer like weather, Oklahoma has thrown itself back into winter. No worries, it’ll clear up soon.

April 4, 2011

Even more so when you finish 64th. Minus a few miscues and the slow start out of the gates, my game is heading in the right direction around the track.

Not this track. Can’t really hit golf balls here, but you can drive 130 mph. The tour stop this past week put us in Daytona Beach and the tour offered a chance to do some hot laps around the Daytona Speedway. How could anyone say no to that? I have never followed NASCAR or had any desire to (outside of watching Talladega Nights), but I have a greater appreciate for the drivers.

Take this turn for instance. From the top part of the turn, which looks like it sits perpendicular to the ground, it is 3 stories to the grass on our left. I can’t imagine driving this 2.5 mile track going 200+ mph. It was something else.

As mentioned in the last post, Daytona was expecting rain in the beginning of the week, and Mother Nature did not disappoint. We were only able to get in 18 holes prior to the start of the tournament. Luckily a few of us had played the course a time or 2, or 12. Kendall and I stayed with a great group of people this week, Member/Guest Champions in fact. Tommy (our host) had his parents in from OKC so his dad could play in their tournament. Not going to lie, we had a few side bets with them and they completely blew us out of the water. It was a crazy week, but it was crazy fun.

In other, more excited golf news, my Razorback teammate, Stacy, won the Kraft Nabisco. Once my round finished Sunday, we rushed to Orlando to watch the last few holes at our hotel. I have never been more nervous/excited watching a tournament on tv, and it was pretty surreal watching the Lewis clan and caddie Travis jump into Poppy’s Pond.

This is a picture from AP/Reed Saxon via EPSN.com. She’s kind of a big deal.

After all the excitment, I had to come back to reality and head back home. I skipped out on going to Mexico, so the next event is a few weeks out. But I’ll be busy busting it until then.